Alleviating Poverty For Dev’t: China’s Best Practices Inspire Africa

 A first-ever think tank forum between the two parties held in Addis Ababa on June 21-22 and participants resolved to deepen partnership for better results

Poverty alleviation efforts in Africa that have recorded mitigated results over the years could witness a new launch pad should governments revise their strategies and work towards changing the mindset and mentality of the population vis-à-vis the scourge.  The People’s Republic of China that lifted over 700 million people out of poverty in three decades and plans to completely journey the remaining 70 million still trapped in such hardship by 2020 has shared the secrets of her success story with Africa and pledges to stand by the continent in winning the battle.  
A first-ever Africa-China High-level Dialogue and Think Tank Forum on Fighting Against Poverty for Common Prosperity held at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from June 21-22, 2017 under the joint Chairmanship of Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi and the African Union Chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat.  Co-organized by the African Union Leadership Academy and Zhejiang Normal University of China within the framework of the 2015 China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, target was to seek ways of realizing Africa’s independent and sustainable development as well as opening up a new era for China-Africa win-win cooperation for common prosperity.
It emerged from the various presentations and discussions that Africa has to imperatively address the issue of its mentality and mindset and to recognize that poverty is not a destiny. That it is something that policymakers with good leadership can address sustainably in the continent. After listening to strategies China adopted to be winning the war against poverty today, experts observed that it would be good for African countries to be consistent in developing infrastructure, improving governance for services such as healthcare, access to water, electricity et al that are vital in dealing with poverty to be basic rather than luxuries. 
According to Emmanuel Nnadozie, Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation, “African governments have got to ensure that growth is inclusive, that it is happening at very high levels and that the growth is double-digit and are more importantly happening in areas where the people live for them to benefit. Drawing inspiration from a book, “Up and Out of Poverty” by Chinese President, Xi Jinping, Stephane Ngwanza of the Institute of International Relations of Cameroon said carrying out a survey on who is poor, where, coming up with a holistic approach to agriculture productivity and striving to formalize the wide-ranging informal sector are important to addressing poverty  whose trends are still disturbing in Africa.
Visible Fruits of China-Africa Cooperation
Ethiopia’s insightful and consistent industrial policy that has been articulated very carefully and is being implemented across the board edified participants about what the continent could gain if she adapts the Chinese experience to their local realities. Ethiopia’s Eastern Industry zone that today hosts over 75 companies, about ten direct foreign investments, leaves no visitor indifferent. It recruits over 10,000 Ethiopians and generates about 10 billion USD annually to the local economy.  A good eye-opener for the rest of the countries that have set targets for emergence!
 

 Professor Huang Chengwei: “Consult Poor People on What They Need”

Director General of China National Poverty Alleviation Propaganda and Education Centre

“The first thing is to keep economic development faster and suitable. Based on that, you will be able to touch poor areas and get the people actively involved in developing the economy socio-economically. By this, you need to guarantee the employment of poor people and so on. You also need to target education to be sure that it is geared towards solving a problem, develop the healthcare system so as to keep the population healthy and active in development. It is also very important to mobilize the poor people to join the poverty alleviation efforts. This begins with consulting them where they are and on what they need. We can enhance more communication on what we do. Remember knowledge, they say, is power. The government of China is wholly ready to work with Africa to do some demonstrations on how poverty alleviation programmes worked for better understanding and adaptability in the different African contexts. This is the essence of this Africa-China high-level dialogue and think tank forum on fighting against poverty for common prosperity. We need to work in synergy to assist each other.  I do hope that after this forum,...